Will go ahead with July 10 blockade: INLD

As authorities in Haryana and Punjab geared up to tackle the July 10 INLD protest, Haryana's opposition party on Saturday said its leaders and workers will picket the inter-state borders at five places to stop Punjab vehicles.

INLD supporters will symbolically stop Punjab vehicles from entering Haryana at five places on the Haryana-Punjab borders on Monday, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala told the media here.

These are the Lalru-Chandigarh stretch on National Highway-I, Ambala-Shambhu border, Narwana-Dhanauri border, Ratia-Budhlada road (Jakhal point) in Fatehabad district and Dabwali in Sirsa district.

The INLD is seeking immediate construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal in Punjab to bring more water to Haryana.

Chautala, Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana assembly, accused the state government and its ministers of trying to mislead people by making false statements regarding personal appeals of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to him (Chautala) to withdraw the proposed protest.

He said Khattar had not spoken to him on this issue.

Chautala said the INLD was constrained to stop all traffic coming from Punjab after exhausting other peaceful methods like submission of memorandums, staging of dharnas and demonstrations.

The Haryana leader said he would visit all designated protest spots by helicopter to oversee the campaign and encourage workers.

The INLD leader accused the central and Haryana governments of failure to get the Supreme Court's November 10 order on the SYL canal, which favoured Haryana, implemented.

The Haryana government has sought 10 additional companies of central paramilitary forces to maintain law and order during the protest, Haryana Director General of Police B.S. Sandhu said.

Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said law and order would be maintained in the state.

The police is likely to divert traffic on some routes in the wake of the proposed protest.

--IANS

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